TEMPLE, Texas — Lindsey Williams is a pediatric nurse anesthetist at Baylor Scott & White's McLane’s children's hospital. But, back in 2014 she decided to make a change and join the Navy.
"So, I was like yeah, that's great I would love to do that! Serve my country, do a job I love and help kids. So, I jumped right on it," Williams said.
But instead, fate stepped in.
"I had to pass a physical and I was running, and my ankle was killing me," Williams said. "So, I thought we'd get it fixed but apparently that wasn't what I was supposed to do."
After ankle surgery, Williams developed a nerve condition called Chronic Pain Syndrome which caused tingles and pain in her leg. She went from being fit and active, to being basically homebound and in pain.
"By the time it was over it was 20 months. It took me from being a normal person to completely at the bottom," Williams said. "I couldn’t drive, work, I couldn't be left alone because I was heavily medicated to try to take away the pain, but there was nothing that work."
After almost two years, Williams had gained 55 pounds and lost 30 percent of the muscle in her leg. She even had to walk with a knee scooter or a cane.
Finally, another medical procedure healed her pain, so she got started toward better health. At first it was tough, but then she enrolled in the Thrive program through her work and used a program called Naturally Slim to start her weight loss journey.
“I was tired of it, I was tired of being fat and overweight and sore and so I did something about it,” Williams said.
When it came time to exercise, that's where her dogs stepped in. Williams has five border collies and a lab-- and these dogs are not just pets, they’re competitors.
Buddy and Pistol compete in agility. Radar and Tom do herding. Oliver is a frisbee champion and Doc is her brand-new puppy.
At first, she said she could not keep up.
"The problem was I was so slow I couldn’t keep up. I couldn’t' run fast enough to be where I had to be,” Williams said.
Now after a year, she's down 60 pounds and running right alongside her workout buddies. Living her best life and making sure her dogs live their best lives too. You can follow along on their journey on Instagram.